Jeff Ward

How Local Government Really Works 101

And why you should pat our School Board members on the back for exceeding all those expectations!

All right, class! Quiet down! It’s time for another civics lesson. This time we’re gonna discuss how local elected boards interact, make decisions and evolve. It’s a truly fascinating subject. The problem is, given the nature of our often frenetic lives, we tend to ignore city councils and their ilk until those bodies are faced with a dilemma that directly affects us on an a base emotional level. Perfect examples would be the Pure Oil building fracas and any time the School Board talks about the tax levy. But because these contentious topics don’t come up very often, when we do start paying attention, we only get small snippets of how it’s supposed to work. Then, pre-conditioned by our salvation-in-30-minutes sitcom world, we’re severely …

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Jeff Ward

10:43 am on Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Mike, Wow! Thanks! The problem is, when you do write something like this without any rancor whatsoever, it tends to fall flat! People either ignore it or they quickly forget about it. Apparently, that's the lot of a columnist! Jeff   more ›

Jeff Ward: Geneva's City Council Strikes a Blow Against the Municipal Mindset

It's a Christmas miracle!

If it weren’t for those pesky restraining orders, seven Geneva councilmen would soon learn exactly how it feels to be kissed squarely on the lips by an overenthusiastic opinion columnist. And 3rd Ward Alderman Dean Kilburg is the first one I’d want to catch under the mistletoe. (Don’t worry, Ron, you’re next!) As a result of a Kilburg-incited City Council insurrection, on Monday night, our aldermen actually voted to hold the property tax line! Sure, this dip in the proposed levy adds up to only a $10 annual savings on a $300,000 home, but when it comes to striking a blow against the municipal mindset, we all know that size doesn’t matter. That said, as those of you who’ve been following along on Channel 10 can readily attest, that dreaded …

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Bob McQuillan

2:16 pm on Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Jim Please reread my comment. As usual, you didn't answer my question and then tried to put words in my mouth. That is a sure sign that you don't want to debate the issues, you want to find fault with everything I say. If "cheerleaders" and providing an estimate on how many district employees live in Geneva is the best you can find then you failed to make any point. "Lets say half" means that I …   more ›

Inside Geneva: Jeff Ward

Jeff Ward: The Municipal Mindset Stikes Again—Right Here on Geneva Patch!

I'll say it again! It's not your money!

Mike, Mike, Mike! (County board member Donahue, that is.) Did you really write that the Kane County’s portion of our property tax bill amounted to no more than what might called a “bad tip”? Don’t you realize, like Pavlov’s dogs, opinion columnists start salivating uncontrollably whenever someone like you says something like that? I'm really not trying to pick on Mr. Donahue (this time), because I’ve already challenged his interesting insights on chickens. My firm belief was he and his development committee cohorts should’ve taken the bull by the horns—I mean the chicken by the beak—in an escalating rooster fracas pitting two unincorporated South Elgin neighbors against each other. You also have to give our east-of-Randall-Road Geneva …

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When Did Fiscal Foresight and Municipal Government Become Oxymorons?

We really ought to be electing folks who've run social service agencies

Considering the state of the economy and our deadbeat state, I recently asked my good friend Mark Furlong how things were going at Thresholds. Mark and I met while working at that social service agency in the '80s. Briefly, Thresholds does a magnificent job of getting schizophrenics and other mentally ill folks back on their feet. If you’re looking for a place to get the biggest bang for your charitable buck, search no further. Now an agency VP, Mark said they were enduring layoffs and program realignments. Then he said something that really struck a chord, “We’re building long-term strategies to put ourselves in a stronger position. We’re not waiting to see what the state does with funding anymore.” “Wow!” I thought. There is one place on…

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